How to Apply

Process

If you are applying to the PhD, ThD, or MA programs, apply to the Graduate Theological Union.

If you are an international student and will need a student visa, please contact Admissions Director Dr. Steven Churchill, (510) 559-2738, and Dean of Students Cheryl Heuer, (510) 559-2754, . Also see additional requirements for international students.

There are seven required steps in the PLTS application process.

  1. Download and complete the application either for a degree program or non-degree admission. To have a paper copy mailed to you, please contact our Admissions Center.
  2. Have official transcripts sent to PLTS from each school of higher learning you previously attended.
  3. Applicants to a degree program, have a letter of recommendation sent to PLTS from one pastor, one former or current employer, and one professor with whom you did work in your major. For non-degree admission, only the letter of recommendation from one professor is required.
  4. For applicants to a degree program, complete the autobiographical statement following the instructions.
  5. Include the $35 application fee.
  6. Submit these materials, together or as they are available, to the Admissions Center at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, 2770 Marin Ave, Berkeley, California, 94708.
  7. Finally, complete and submit all financial aid paperwork as instructed in the Financial Aid section of this site, and Housing paperwork as instructed in the Housing section.

We will notify you when your application file is complete and then again when the Admissions Committee has taken action on your file. If you have questions at any step of the process, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Policies and Deadlines

Priority Application Deadline

The priority deadline for application to PLTS is March 15th. Students who have submitted complete 1) Admissions, 2) Financial Aid, and 3) Housing applications by the priority deadline will know by 15 April if they have been 1) admitted, 2) awarded financial aid, and 3) assigned housing. These Admissions, Financial Aid, and Housing decisions will be effective until 1 July and must be accepted before that date.

Late Application Deadline

Applicants who apply after March 15th must complete Admissions, Financial Aid, and Housing applications before 1 July to be eligible for Financial Aid or Housing, which will be granted from what remains after applicants meeting the Priority Deadline have been awarded. There is no guarantee of housing after the March 15th deadline and what is available will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Standards for Admissions

Admission standards vary for each of our degree programs, but include common elements such as the completion of a bachelor’s degree, academic ability, and appropriate background in pre-theological study. Before applying you should check the requirements that are specific to your degree program:

General Candidacy Requirements

For students who are candidates for ordination in the ELCA, PLTS follows the procedures for candidacy prepared by the ELCA.

  1. A seminary’s role in the ELCA candidacy process, (as described by the Division for Ministry candidacy manual), is as follows:

    Seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are important partners in the candidacy process. Every Candidacy Committee includes an ELCA seminary faculty representative appointed by the Division for Ministry. ELCA seminaries make recommendations to the Candidacy Committees concerning the approval of every candidate for ordained and diaconal ministry and provide evaluative material to the Candidacy Committee and the Department for Synodical Relations/Conference of Bishops.

    For students who are candidates for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, PLTS follows the procedures for candidacy adopted by the ELCA. The procedures are based upon the belief that candidates for ordination are candidates of the church as a whole and will be available for service throughout the entire church. Both the standards and processes attend to the “whole” person, including physical, emotional, academic, theological, and spiritual dimensions. The process provides ongoing evaluation and support for students throughout their seminary education.

    During each candidate’s first year of seminary, representatives of the candidate’s synodical or multi-synodical candidacy committee and members of the faculty conduct a review process with the candidate, including consideration of an endorsement essay written by the candidate. The review leads to the decision by the student’s candidacy committee whether to endorse the student for preparation for ordination. However, denial of endorsement by the candidacy committee without a specific recommendation to the contrary will not effect termination of studies in the MDiv program should the student elect to continue.

    The candidacy committee maintains contact with the candidate. During the final year of study each candidate must receive recommendation for approval by the faculty reflecting the suitability of the candidate for ordination from the perspective of the faith heritage of the church. The faculty recommendation is forwarded to the candidacy committee as a separate assessment, which informs the committee’s decision on approval for ordination. Students write an ordination approval essay and meet with the committee for an interview based on the essay and their overall experience. The committee then grants, delays, or denies approval for ordination. Ordination itself depends upon receipt and acceptance of a letter of call. The ELCA cannot guarantee that a candidate who has prepared and received approval will receive a call. The personal, academic, and character expectations for seminarians and clergy can be found in Vision and Expectations, an official ELCA policy document available from the Academic Dean’s office.

    A parallel process takes place for students seeking approval for Associate in Ministry status.

  2. To further the goals of this mandate, the PLTS Assistant to the Dean provides ordination-track students with the following materials, information, and services:

    1. ELCA Endorsement and Approval Essay Packets to all on-campus students (Students who are elsewhere are responsible for communicating with their home synods).
    2. Necessary information regarding all essay submission, address and due date requirements.
    3. Scheduling of on-campus students’ Endorsement interviews (AIM and alternate route students are responsible for communicating with their home synods).
    4. Information in writing of students’ scheduled Endorsement interview time and location.

Timing Your Entrance

Many forward thinking, justice-minded people ask this question as they begin considering seminary for their future. The benefits of volunteering are many: There are benefits to the less fortunate who depend on the generosity of individuals and of charitable agencies. There are benefits to society when people are clothed, fed, housed, educated, and given medical care. And, of course, there are benefits to the volunteer—benefits that are not often realized going in. And, when a person gets to seminary with a year of volunteering under his or her belt, the practical applications of theology become much more alive and present.

On the other hand, there are certainly benefits to taking some theological education into the world of service. Scriptural, pastoral, and theological knowledge can provide deep insight for a person’s career as a volunteer, deepening a person’s faith, challenging their mind, expanding their heart, and energizing them for mission.

At PLTS, we honor both of those callings and make it easy for to you accomplish both. If you begin a degree program at PLTS and take a year off to volunteer, you can return to your degree program a year later without penalty and without loss of credits.

Your future, your calling, and your options are unique to you. Be in touch with one of our Admissions Counselors to begin a conversation on discerning what will work best for you.